ELSPA brings gaming to Government
Game publisher trade body ELSPA has hosted a session in Westminster for British MPs and Lords, inviting them to familiarise themselves with the cultural and economic importance of the videogame industry.
Game publisher trade body ELSPA has hosted a session in Westminster for British MPs and Lords, inviting them to familiarise themselves with the cultural and economic importance of the videogame industry.
The parliamentary briefing session, held in Portcullis House this week, was aimed at improving the public and governmental perception of the games industry, and raising awareness of the business issues surrounding it.
"We are heartened by the extremely positive response we received from the MPs," commented ELSPA director general Roger Bennett, adding that "the vast majority of them had never played a video game before."
"We're often misunderstood by MPs, Lords and Government officials who do not often have personal interaction with games," he explained. "This is why ELSPA has taken the initiative to go direct to Parliament in order to explain in detail the economic and cultural significance of great industry and to correct some of the misconceptions that exist among non-games players."
A key fact highlighted by the session was the economic contribution of the games industry to the UK - with ELSPA rolling out estimates which suggest that the industry, which employs some 20,000 people here, generated over £2 billion for the UK economy last year.